Verse 33
33. The ordinances חקות : meaning here the laws that guide the stars, and control the seasons, etc. The intimate and commanding relationships of the heavenly bodies to our earth are those of a king to his subjects. Hence the immediate reference to “dominion,” a thought that modern science illustrates and confirms.
Dominion thereof משׁשׂרו , used only here, is a more significant word than the preceding one, (ordinances;) it is derived from shatar, “to cut into,” “write,” metaphorically administer; the art of writing being used in ancient times almost exclusively for legislative and judicial purposes, (Furst;) in accordance with which the word shoter signifies “an overseer,” “an administrator.” This pregnant question of the Almighty, Delitzsch reads, “Dost thou define its influence on the earth?” Hitzig, “Dost thou determine its relation to the earth?” a question which will ever task to the utmost the resources of science to answer.
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